


Days in the Valley

by Citadel693



Series: Days In The Valley [1]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 20:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30010680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Citadel693/pseuds/Citadel693
Summary: One day, you awaken in the clinic in a strange place called Pelican Town. You were found unconscious on the beach and have no memory of how you got there, and seemingly no way of getting home or contacting the outside world.
Series: Days In The Valley [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2207664
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Days in the Valley

Your eyes were the last to wake up. The first was your nose. It twitched and itched, tingling with the scent of disinfectant and air only gently buffeted by a distant, slow ceiling fan. Next were your ears. They picked up the faint motor of the aforementioned fan, the slow and steady beeping of machinery, the echoes of muffled voices through thin walls. Then, your skin. The textures it felt were unfamiliar to you; crisp paper stretched loosely over your bare belly, the edges tickling your thighs. You felt your body lying on what you assumed to be a bed, coincidentally of the perfect firmness, and draped in the kind of cheap but comfortable sheets one might find at a reasonably priced hotel.

Finally, your eyes woke. They opened, blurry and fogged over from disuse, to sudden light that stung for a moment. You groaned, shielding them with the back of a strangely heavy hand while you blinked them back to clarity.

The fact that you could see again apparently spurred the rest of your body into action. A dull ache immediately washed over you, not enough to hurt, but enough to catch your attention. It was the kind of ache that people have pre-programmed into their body at birth, controlled by a switch that was automatically flipped when they did something stupid. What stupid thing you’d done to flip that switch was lost to you.

You looked around. The room you were in was unfamiliar. It seemed like some kind of hospital...or, at least, a building set up to act as a hospital with low funding. It was nice enough, clean and sanitized, light from above reflecting off the blue tile floor to give the white walls a pale, pleasant glow. The bed you were in didn’t exactly strike you as a hospital bed--the image of the reasonably priced hotel room crossed your mind once again--but it was comfortable enough, tucked away in a corner. Towards the foot of the bed was a large, plain table, with a small window above it filtering in soft spring sunshine. On the table you could see your phone, wallet, and pocket knife. Behind you, your vision was blocked by a minty green divider, crossing the entirety of the room save for a space to walk around it to the other side.

Slowly, attempting not to exaggerate the ache in your muscles, you sat, pulled your legs around to dangle over the side of the bed, and stood. Your legs wobbled, but only for a minute. You felt sluggish. You shuffled over to the table to glance through the window. The glass glistened, recently polished, though one could still make out the usual scratches and scuffs worn into it by time. You couldn’t see much on the other side, just what looked like cobblestone paths and some kind of garden in the distance. All as unfamiliar as your current surroundings.

The voices you’d heard when you woke were still chatting. You looked down. The paper you’d felt had turned out to be a hospital examination gown. It had no pockets, as is usual for hospital gowns in general, so you settled for grabbing your phone before attempting to go find whoever was talking.

The room was much larger than you thought, long and open, with the far wall arranged into two private areas like yours, separated by more minty dividers. You passed them by, making your way down a short hall that opened up to three more, one straight ahead and one to either side. The voices sounded more clear now, all deep and masculine, and drifting towards you from the hall to your left. This hall ended in a single, swinging door. Through the window in its center, you could make out a small group of silhouettes. You pushed the door open just enough to stick your head out and take a peak.

A waiting room was situated on the other side of the door, with three men huddled together by the counter. All three of them seemed on the older side, though one stood out by far as the eldest in the group. His face was dominated by a large, round nose and an immaculately groomed handlebar moustache the color of ash. By his stature, you assumed he must’ve been someone important, be it to himself or to other people. He stood tall and proud, one thumb tucked under his suspenders, the other hand toying with the knot around his vibrant yellow necktie. Closest to the counter and with his back towards you was another man who seemed more timid, slightly hunched, hands stuffed in the pockets of his green coat. When he looked side to side at the other two men, you could see his own moustache, his a charming chesnut brown, and the edges of thick, round glasses. The third man was the tallest, and stood out the most. While the other two wore simple clothes in shades of green and brown and white, he looked as though he were a gentleman that had stepped out of a Jane Austin novel. He was wrapped in a long, elegant red coat, apparently tailored to drape over his frame just right. He paused to brush some of his long, coppery hair out of his face, which seemed pinched with concern.

The three of them continued their conversation, not yet noticing your sudden arrival.

“You’re sure you don’t remember anything else, Elliot?” the bespectacled man asked.

“Nothing,” replied the worried gentleman.

“There wasn’t a boat nearby or anything that they could’ve been separated from?”

“Nothing but the waves. It was like they’d just fallen from the sky.”

“Well, unfortunately, people aren’t birds--they don’t go falling from the sky regularly. Unless they’re the type to go skydiving,” mused the oldest man.

“I didn’t find any signs that they fell from anywhere,” replied the bespectacled man. “In fact, I didn’t find anything--no bumps or bruises, no signs of dehydration or malnutrition, no disease as far as I could tell...just sand and saltwater in their hair and clothes.”

“But they’re alright, otherwise?” asked the gentleman.

“Yes. They seem to be in a perfect state of health,” confirmed the bespectacled man. The gentleman let out a sigh, his expression softening to one of relief. “It’s a good thing you brought them here when you did, though. Much longer and I’d have been worried about exposure. Who knows how long they were out there?”

“I can’t say. I just stepped outside of my cabin and found them lying on the sand. They weren’t there when I went to bed, though.”

“What should we do now, then?” The oldest man stopped fidgeting with his tie, instead reaching up to scratch his head under his flat brown cap. “We have a stranger who just appeared on the beach. They don’t seem hurt or sick, but no one’s seen them around before, and we have no idea how they got here.”

“Let’s wait until they wake up,” the bespectacled man suggested. “Maybe they can enlighten us.”

The thud of a shutting door and the clicking of heels on tile stole your attention from the conversation. You pulled your head back into the hall and turned around. There were a few more heel clicks and a young lady rounded the corner, making her way towards you. She was dressed in a white nurse’s uniform and looking over several sheets of paper in her hand. You let the door swing gently shut behind you. The sound made the nurse glance up. She jumped when she saw you.

“What are you doing here?!” she asked. “I mean, uh...hi! Good morning! I’m glad you’re awake, but you shouldn’t be out of bed!”

“Sorry,” you said with a sheepish smile. “I didn’t know where I was. I was trying to find someone to help me.”

“That’s okay. I’m sure it’s disorienting. We really should get you back to bed, though.” The nurse smiled and offered her arm. You took it, allowing her to lead you back down the halls and to your little hideaway. She sat you back on the bed, held her hand to your forehead, then her fingertips to your wrist. You let her check you over, still confused but, strangely, not as panicked as you thought you should have been, given the whole “waking up in a strange place with no idea how you got there” thing.

When she was satisfied with her examination, the nurse insisted you get comfortable in the bed again, though she let you remain sitting up. She helped you situate the pillow behind your back, as that ache was still persisting and made it tricky for you to reach back there yourself, then pulled the blanket up and tucked it neatly around your lap.

“Wait here just a minute,” she instructed, smiling at you again. “I’ll go get the doctor and let him know that you’re awake.”

“Okay. Thank you.” You watched her leave, only realizing after she’d vanished behind the divider that you probably should’ve asked her where you were, or at least been polite and asked her name. You instead listened to her heels fade down the hallways, then to the muffled voices going silent, followed by the returning heel clicks, along with the heavier steps of other feet. The nurse reappeared, followed by the three men from the waiting room, the bespectacled man and the gentleman smiling at you with relief while the oldest watched you curiously.

“Good morning!” the bespectacled man said brightly. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay, just kind of sore, like I’ve been exercising too much or something.” You watched as the man came closer and repeated the same little examination that the nurse had given you before. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Well, we were hoping you could help us figure that out.” The bespectacled man stuffed his hands in his pockets again. “Can you start by telling us your name? I would’ve checked your wallet or phone, but Maru thought that would be rude.”

“Right. My name is--”

A crashing noise sounded from the back of the room. Everyone looked around. The nurse stuck her head around the divider.

“Sorry about that! I bumped into one of the plants and knocked it over. I think it was unbalanced, the tile underneath seems loose. I’ll try to straighten everything out again,” she added, vanishing once again. The bespectacled man gave a nervous chuckle and turned his attention back to you.

“Sorry. Maru can be a bit clumsy sometimes. She’s an excellent assistant, though. Anyway, it’s very nice to meet you, ---.” His mouth formed the shape of your name, but his voice was drowned out by another crash. Apparently the plant had tipped over again. “I’m Harvey, I’m the doctor here in town. Elliot over there found you on the beach yesterday morning. You were unconscious, and he was afraid you might be hurt, so he brought you here.”

“Carried you all the way across town, wouldn’t even accept help from anyone,” the oldest man said, giving the gentleman an approving look. “It was quite the feat.” The gentleman, Elliot, smiled.

“It was nothing, Mayor, I assure you. Besides, it was a matter of necessity. No time to stop and chat when you’re helping someone in need, even if the speaker is well-intentioned.”

“Yes, it was all very chivalrous and heroic,” said Harvey curtly, as the Mayor opened his mouth to respond. “But the more pressing matter is why such action was needed in the first place.” He looked to you once again. “Can you tell us what you were doing on the beach?”

“Wish I could.” You scratched at your forehead, puzzled. “I’m just as stumped about it as you are.”

“You didn’t happen to go skydiving, did you?” asked Elliot. You couldn’t help but give a snort.

“I hope not! If I did, I was pushed. Then again, I don’t remember getting on a plane.”

“What _do_ you remember, then?” inquired Harvey gently.

“Not much…” You furrowed your brow and concentrated hard. “The last thing I remember, I was out going for a walk, enjoying the weather. The next thing I knew, I woke up here.”

“Nothing else?” Harvey pressed. “You didn’t take a bus home and it made a wrong turn, or decide to go on a spontaneous cruise trip or anything?”

“Nope.” You thought, trying desperately to find the missing time in your memory, but there was nothing. “I’m sorry, that’s all I’ve got.”

“It’s alright.” It was Harvey’s turn to furrow his brow now. “I’m just not sure why you can’t remember. I didn’t see any head trauma that would cause amnesia...do you or your family have a medical history of memory loss?”

“No, not at all.”

“Strange…”

“Why don’t you try giving someone a call?” asked the Mayor. He gestured to the cellphone, still clutched in your fist. “Maybe one of your friends knows what happened. At the very least, you can let them know that you’re okay--they must be worried sick.”

“Good idea.” You typed in the password for your phone and glanced at the signal icon, your heart sinking a little. “No reception. Like, none at all...I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere where I didn’t get at least one or two bars.” You lifted the phone into the air, waving it back and forth, trying to find a better signal, but no dice. You tapped at the screen, but nothing was working. “I could try to get a hold of someone online, but I can’t connect to the wifi, either.”

“The wifi here is kind of spotty,” Harvey admitted. “I don’t get online much. You should be able to at least get onto Pierre’s, though. He splurges on the good internet package for his daughter’s online classes. Plus, he recently found out he draws in more customers if he lets them use it while they’re shopping. He changes the password every week, but I remember this week’s, if you need it.”

“I would, but I can’t find anything to connect to, password protected or otherwise.” You turned the phone so everyone could see. The section where names for various wifi connections should be displayed was completely blank; no amount of refreshing would change it.

“You can try my phone!” The nurse, Maru, had joined the group once again. From the pocket of her skirt, she retrieved a smart phone and passed it to you. You thanked her and started typing in your parents’ home phone number.

“By the way, where are we?” You asked, pausing before you could hit the call button. “I should tell them where to come find me.”

“Right, of course. Let them know you’re in Pelican Town. The Governor is sure to have mentioned us during his tour of the Valley, at this point. We’re rather famous with him for our soup at our annual Luau,” the Mayor said, puffing out his chest and hooking thumbs in his suspenders again. You just stared at him.

“I’m...where’s Pelican Town? I haven’t heard of it before.”

“What? You haven’t?” The Mayor visibly deflated.

“We’re on the southern coast in Stardew Valley,” Harvey explained.

“Just a few miles north of the Fern Islands,” added Elliot.

You continued to stare blankly.

“I’m sorry,” you said slowly. “I’ve...never heard of any of those places before. I have no idea where that is.”

“Never heard of Stardew Valley?” mumbled the Mayor. “The Fern Islands, I can understand, but the Valley?...”

“How about you tell us where you’re from?” Maru suggested. “You can go ahead and make your call, so everyone at least knows that you’re safe. We’ll work backwards from your address and figure out where the Valley is in relation to there.”

“Sure. It’s--” You began, but your hand, apparently angry at being still for so long, twitched, causing you to hit the dial button on Maru’s phone. You quickly brought it to your ear, listening to it ring, and said to Harvey, “My address is on my driver’s license, in my wallet. You can open it, it’s fine. It’s in a little plastic pocket right in the front, so you don’t have to go through it at all.”

Harvey nodded and made his way to the table. The Mayor, Elliot, and Maru began to speak quietly to each other, low enough that you couldn’t make out what they said, but loud enough that you lightly covered your other ear with your hand to muffle them. You watched Harvey as he opened your wallet and carefully examined your license, becoming concerned when you saw his confused expression.

The phone was still ringing, which was odd--surely it should have stopped and at least sent you to an answering machine by now. You kept your eyes on Harvey as he began to speak aloud, seemingly to himself, catching his words between rings.

“What town is-- _ring!_ \--heard of it-- _ring!_ \--Where on-- _ring!_ ”

“Any luck?” asked the Mayor, who had come closer to the bed.

“Not yet, it’s still ringing,” you explained. Just as the words left your mouth, the ringing stopped short. “Oh, wait!”

A few seconds of silence on the line. Then, a monotone, robotic voice:

“Invalid number.”

_Click._

“What?” You looked at the phone in disbelief.

“What happened?” Everyone was watching you now. You felt the panic that you’d noticed had been absent earlier begin to form, and you wondered if they could see it on your face.

“I don’t know. It rang for a long time, then said I’d used an invalid number, then just hung up.”

“Did you dial it wrong?” Maru asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think so.” Just to be sure, you opened the contacts list on your own phone and scrolled until you found your parents’ number. You carefully entered it into Maru’s phone, double checking that you’d copied it exactly, then hit the dial button again.

Another agonizingly long series of rings, then:

“Invalid number.”

_Click._

“I don’t understand. I _know_ I entered it right this time…” The panic was starting to become more pronounced. You went through your contacts list, dialing everyone you could, even the number you used to put more data on your phone. Every time, you got the series of rings, the monotone voice, and a click.

“Maru, is it okay if I go online on your phone?” You asked, after you failed to get through to your cousin who you never really spoke to, but whose mother insisted you keep their number “just in case”. “I’ll see if I can log onto Facebook or Twitter or something.”

“Sure, go ahead!” Maru gave you another smile, though you could see the concern growing in her eyes. You returned the smile as best you could and opened up her web browser, headed to Facebook first--your parents were always on Facebook, so one of them was sure to see your message as soon as you sent it.

However, as you entered your account information and clicked the button to sign in, the page seemed to freeze for a few seconds. Then, a message in red text under the username and password entry boxes:

“Unknown Account. Please try again.”

“What the--” You caught yourself before you let out a nasty curse and took a deep breath. The panic was growing ever stronger; it was now crawling up from the pit of your stomach, reaching up to squeeze at your lungs. You entered your information again, only to be met with the same red text.

“No luck there, either?” Maru had walked over to the bed and sat on the edge at this point, glancing over your shoulder, the phone screen reflecting in her glasses and catching the corner of your eye.

“No. And I know for a fact I put my information in right. I know my internet log-ins by heart.” You switched over to Twitter, entered your information, and, again, received the same message, this time in a pop up.

The panic was squeezing tighter. You forced yourself to take deeper breaths to compensate while you tried Discord, your email, YouTube, even Amazon and Netflix. Every single site gave you the same result:

“Unknown Account. Please try again.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s really weird.” Maru gave you a look, then rubbed your shoulder and turned to Harvey. “What about the address, Harvey?”

Harvey winced, glancing at you.

“I...I don’t know. I don’t recognize any part of that address. It’s all Greek to me.”

You could feel the panic starting to prod at your heart now. Maru seemed to notice.

“Do we have any of that anxiety medication handy, Harvey? The stuff you had me bottle up and label last week?”

“Right.” Harvey, realizing what was happening, hurried off around the divider. Maru kept rubbing your shoulder. In a last ditch effort, you pulled Google up on her phone and typed in your entire address, country and all.

“Zero search results.”

_What is happening?!_

Maru and Elliot were saying something, but you couldn’t hear them over your pulse now pounding in your ears. Your mind went blank and you felt the urge to scream.

Harvey came skidding back, a small green bottle in his hands.

“Here, drink this,” he said, screwing the cap off and passing you the bottle. “It will help you calm down.”

You obeyed. The liquid inside the bottle was thick and syrupy, like drinking a not-quite-frozen popsicle. It got to work almost instantly. You felt a tingling kind of warmth building in your stomach and spreading steadily to the rest of your body. It ate away at the panic now gripping your heart, ripping its thorns out and reducing it into a mass of dust dissolved by stomach acid.

“Better?” Harvey asked, eyeing you closely.

“Much,” you sighed. Maru smiled and gave your shoulder a squeeze. “What should we do now?”

“I’m not sure that there’s much we can do.” Harvey looked around at the others. “You’re unfamiliar with the area, and, frankly, I’ve never heard of wherever you’re from in my life. I imagine no one you know would know about the Valley, either, if you were even able to contact them. I’m not sure if there’s a gentler way to put this, but for the time being, it looks like you’re stuck here.”

Silence in the room. Everyone sat with their own thoughts, nothing but the sound of the fan motor to interrupt.

“...You got pretty worked up,” Harvey said at last. “Which is understandable, of course! Anyone would in your situation! I just mean, you’re still my patient, for the time being, and that was an awful lot of stimulation for someone who's been unconscious for at least a day. I think it’s best you try and get some more rest.”

“Where?” The Mayor piped up. “If there’s no way to get to...wherever that address is, where is ---” He was saying your name, but another, now familiar, crash drowned him out. Maru grumbled under her breath. “--going to be staying? Pelican Town doesn’t have an inn.”

“How about my parent’s place?” Maru offered. “We don’t have a lot of extra space, but I’m sure it’ll be fine if I sleep on Sebastian’s couch for a while.”

“I’d be more than willing to set up a cot in my cabin,” Elliot offered. “I’d hate for Maru to be kicked out of her own bed trying to be a good hostess.”

“A trek up the mountain or down to the beach would not be the best right now,” Harvey said. To you, he added, “I know I said you’re fine, but this whole situation is strange in many ways, and I’m not sure I want to risk anything right now. You can stay here for a few days until we can think of something more suitable. I don’t get many overnight patients, thankfully, so you should have plenty of privacy.”

“Alright. Thank you, Harvey,” you said. He smiled.

“We should let you get some rest. A nice nap will do you good,” he insisted. You nodded and lay down. Maru stood and helped Harvey usher everyone back to the other side of the divider.

“I guess I can let everyone know that we have a new temporary resident,” the Mayor said as he left.

“Isn’t this a mystery?” said Elliot, eyes gleaming as he followed him. “What a book it would make! The hero wakes in a hospital, in a town they’ve never even heard of, with no memory of how they got there and no idea how to get back home. I’ll have to start writing at once!”

You listened as the chatter and footsteps slowly faded away once again. The swinging door shut in the distance, and soon, the voices were silent all together. A shadow passed through the window, indicating, you thought, Elliot and the Mayor’s departure.

You picked up your phone, entered the password, and opened the wifi selection again. Still nothing, and no signal, either. Resetting the phone did nothing to change it. You set the phone down by your pillow and rolled over to face the wall. You curled into a ball under the blankets, hiding beneath them as you had when you were a child frightened of monsters under the bed. The same thought flashed through your mind again:

_What’s happening?_

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't actually written legit fanfiction in YEARS, so I apologize if it's a little rough.


End file.
